Questions

[Peter Snow]

Hi Drew,

The Thumb Drum problem:

You will never get any sounds out of the thumbdrum by itself because it
is a device to generate triggers that go into other devices.
Those other devices could be drum modules that will respond to a trigger
input or something like the PAIA midi brain which will generate MIDI
messages in response to your pounding on the thumb pads. The output of
the MIDI brain then goes to any MIDI (drum)synth. Chances are it is
working perfectly - you just need to hook it up to the right device to
make it more useful.

The filter construction problem:

You have a slight problem here because on the one hand you want
something that will teach you about the circuits but on the other you
say that the kit you put together only refreshed your soldering skills.
If you are unsure of your skills, I think your best bet is still to go
with a kit (PAIA has a nice filter kit that I am just about to put
together). These kits come with full schematic and theory of operation
so you have ample opportunity to learn from the documentation how the
device works as you are putting it together, and if you feel up to it,
to make modifications later.  In addition to support from PAIA you can
always get your questions answered by list members.  I have built many
PAIA kits and I have always learned something from them as well as
having a working device at the end of the day. Their cost is reasonable
too.

Hope this helps,

Peter Snow



Drew Smith wrote:
> 
>         Heya, folks,
> 
>         I've decided that I'm kidding myself thinking that I've got enough
> electronics experience to sit down and build a circuit from a schematic
> alone.  I'm trying to bring my skills up some, but I'm afraid I'm at a
> loss.
> 
>         I'd like to build a project, hopefully to develop some more
> understanding of what's happening, but short of going back to school,
> I'm not entirely sure where to begin.  I do have basic understanding of
> logic and a good capacity to pick up new concepts, but I'm on my own and
> at a bit of a loss as to where to begin.
> 
>         Ideally, I'd like to build a small filter project - I've got many
> analogue synths with which I play daily and perform occasionally.  I've
> looked into some of the filter schematics I've seen on various sites,
> but getting from paper to product is a bit difficult in my books.
> 
>         Can anyone suggest a good starting-point for all this?  A book, or a
> kit, or a tutorial, or something?  I've built the Paia "drum tone board"
> (with a complaint, actually, see below), but all I really got out of it
> was a brushing-up of my soldering skills, unused since highschool.
> 
>         So - uh, I guess, help?  Anyone have any suggestions for me?
> 
>         Thanks in advance - I really do want to learn. :)
> 
>         Cheers,
>         - Drew.
> 
> --
> Drew Smith, UNIX Network Administrator
> Pacific Corporate Trust Company, Vancouver
> 
> ** Paia story:
>         Well, it's not the fault of Paia, and a good person there did take a
> look at the issue, but I'm still left with a well-soldered hunk of
> circuitboard and out $50.  I bought the drum tone board on seeing it in
> the Paia 1999 catalogue - it wasn't until I reached step 40 or so, "Now,
> take out your Paia ThumbDrum board and connect it to J1", that I
> realized that this kit is entirely useless on it's own.  I've been
> experimenting a bit with it to see if I could possibly pull something
> interesting out of the time spent, but my lack of knowledge is the main
> obstacle.  I've got a voltage regulator sending the thing +5v to the pin
> marked "+5v", ground to the ground pin - but there's a third pin marked
> "Vcc" or something similar, which I have no idea what to do with.  I'm
> certain it should be connected to something, but what voltage (or
> whatever) is unknown - also the trigger inputs - have been experimenting
> with +5v on a button-switch to see if I can trigger a noise of some
> type, but still nothing.  Anyone have a solution?